gerG
Headphoneus Supremus
(Another typical gerG-rant)
A warning about cheap/stock ear-buds and headphones, with some basic headphone info tossed in at random.
We do love our music. In my experience we want full immersion, with the entire audio spectrum wrapped around our minds. The problem is that most stock ear-buds are missing a fundamental part of that spectrum (pun intended). I have tried a wide variety of these devices, and they seem to lack bass response in all but ideal circumstances. If placement is perfect, and you hold perfectly still, and there is no background noise...right, like that is going to happen. What do we music lovers do? Turn up the volume until we can hear everything! It is my considered opinion that the leaner (more bass shy) the headphone response, the louder the average listener will crank the volume. This leads to a situation where the most easily heard frequencies are far too loud. Fortunately for the music the ear adapts and it all sounds good. Unfortunately for the listener this is a perfect recipe for hearing damage. Such damage is cumulative, and it won’t grow back! My advice to those who still have any mid and upper register hearing left: throw away the stock ear-buds and get some decent headphones. At the very least, please be careful with the volume control, and work to get a perfect fit (you will know it when you hear it). Worst case, you may have to forget the visceral impact thing now, or give up everything but bass tones in the not too distant future.
The next question should be: “...alright smartass, what should I buy instead”. Although I have pondered the second half of that question for years, the answer varies significantly from person to person and situation to situation. Almost as remarkably, the first half of the question has always been constant. As a cop-out, here are some definitions and generalizations:
Ear-buds: these are the typical little ear-speakers that hang in the outer ear between the tragus and the anti-tragus (no, really, look it up). The stock versions which come with most portable media devices are, well, not the paragon of audio quality. A bigger problem seems to be that they do not have any preferred alignment, so if you do get a fit that sounds good and feels comfortable, they will flip sideways 15 seconds after you take your fingers off them. Doesn’t that just piss you off? I have a bin of these things that I have been collecting for a couple of decades. If they will not stay put in my ears, they go into the bin and begin the decomposition process.
Canal phones: this covers everything from extended ear-buds that seal to the ear canal (blocking a lot of external noise) to specialized drivers built into earplugs and intended for full engagement into the ear canal. The full engagement type can sound sensational, but have some potential drawbacks:
1)Some folks can’t stand “things” in their ears. If in doubt, practice with foam earplugs. As an aside, competent earplug use is a very good way to maintain good hearing
2)They isolate so well that you can’t hear that hungry school bus sneaking up behind you.
3)They are not waterproof, so when you leave them in your pocket and they go through the laundry, prepare to have a really bad day.
3a)Some pets like the taste, so likewise when they go through your dog.
One other “feature” of the full engagement type is that they stay put. We are talking stop you dead in your tracks if you step on the wire engagement. For some this is a huge plus. I can do cartwheels in the aisle and my canalphones will not budge (although the stewardess did threaten to throw me off the plane). otoh it is not comfortable to be halted by your ear canals if the wire gets snagged on something. Careful routing of the lead-wire pretty much eliminates the latter.
Next up are on-ear headphones. These are usually compact and fold up for carry. As the name implies, they sit on the outer ear (aka pinea). Most use a headband, although some are available with a behind-the-neck band (“street style”) while others actually clip to the ears. The main complication is that they rely on a good seal against the outer ear to get decent bass response. An over the head band is typically best for a good seal due to adjustability. I never had any luck with the clip-on type, but they work great for some folks. The behind the neck are a hybrid, since they need to hang over the outer ear to keep the pads/drivers from falling off, because gravity basically sucks.
For those who are very serious about the music, and not too concerned about strangers pointing at them, there are the larger around-the-ear headphones (circumaural). These can offer the best sound for the dollar, at the expense of a more cumbersome package and questionable curb appeal. This is the real headphone mainstream, so options abound. They fall into 2 main categories: open, where the outer shell is mostly acoustically open to the environment, and closed, where the outer shell is just that, a barrier to external noise. Closed headphones do not isolate the listener particularly well, but they do keep the music inside, so you can get away with them in the library, although all of that dancing will get you busted every time. Open headphones give a better sense of space and, um, openness, but they leak sound to the outer world.
Now, how to choose? First think about how you listen. If you listen while at the gym or running, big old circumaural cans aren’t going to be comfortable (I have tried). Canal phones or light supra-aural will work. At the library or in a noisy dorm, closed full-sized cans are just right. For travel, especially on an airplane, good canal-phones are a godsend! The only problem is that you will not hear the pilot when (s)he tells you to extinguish all electronics. Canal-phones also seem to be the growth market right now, with new deals showing up every week. For ultimate personal listening when you don’t need isolation, open circumaural headphones are just plain sweet. Just remember that turning up the volume to drown outside noises is a very bad idea, and closed cans would have been the better choice.
Next, listen before you buy, if possible. Worst case, buy from someone with a good return policy. If you have a friend with a headphone addiction, it is a mixed blessing. On the positive they will be happy to loan headphones for temporary listening trials, and they can be great information resources. On the negative side they will give you more information than you can stand, and the affliction can be very contagious. Borrow with care.
Lastly, do some research (and quit that groaning). As with many things, the quality of your results will depend on how well informed you are as a consumer. Be forewarned, this road only starts with headphones, but leads next to headphone amps, then to better source components, source tweaks, ripping tweaks, etc. DO NOT PANIC! This stuff is all nice to have, but not necessary all at once. The first step is to get some headphones that work for you without ruining your hearing, remember? Please don’t fall into the trap of going out on a limb and selling your soul for the “ultimate system”. I have seen this voracious pit claim many a victim, and none ever actually found that ultimate system. Just remember, all gear is a compromise, and a better version will be coming along shortly.
I should clarify some jargon: headphones are also referred to as phones or cans. Canal-phones are sometimes erroneously called earbuds or buds. This is not a big deal, as long as you are aware of how they fit. It does get vague when dealing with designs that provide high isolation with shallow engagement.
Now, a few websites to get you started:
head-fi.org a full spectrum of headphone geeks, from newbies to the old-ones. Always pleasant and well behaved.
headphone.com both a resource and a retailer. They have been around since before music resided on computers.
headwize.com predates head-fi. Another excellent source of headphone information, with a large collection of diy types.
And now some great advice from my fellow inmates...
A warning about cheap/stock ear-buds and headphones, with some basic headphone info tossed in at random.
We do love our music. In my experience we want full immersion, with the entire audio spectrum wrapped around our minds. The problem is that most stock ear-buds are missing a fundamental part of that spectrum (pun intended). I have tried a wide variety of these devices, and they seem to lack bass response in all but ideal circumstances. If placement is perfect, and you hold perfectly still, and there is no background noise...right, like that is going to happen. What do we music lovers do? Turn up the volume until we can hear everything! It is my considered opinion that the leaner (more bass shy) the headphone response, the louder the average listener will crank the volume. This leads to a situation where the most easily heard frequencies are far too loud. Fortunately for the music the ear adapts and it all sounds good. Unfortunately for the listener this is a perfect recipe for hearing damage. Such damage is cumulative, and it won’t grow back! My advice to those who still have any mid and upper register hearing left: throw away the stock ear-buds and get some decent headphones. At the very least, please be careful with the volume control, and work to get a perfect fit (you will know it when you hear it). Worst case, you may have to forget the visceral impact thing now, or give up everything but bass tones in the not too distant future.
The next question should be: “...alright smartass, what should I buy instead”. Although I have pondered the second half of that question for years, the answer varies significantly from person to person and situation to situation. Almost as remarkably, the first half of the question has always been constant. As a cop-out, here are some definitions and generalizations:
Ear-buds: these are the typical little ear-speakers that hang in the outer ear between the tragus and the anti-tragus (no, really, look it up). The stock versions which come with most portable media devices are, well, not the paragon of audio quality. A bigger problem seems to be that they do not have any preferred alignment, so if you do get a fit that sounds good and feels comfortable, they will flip sideways 15 seconds after you take your fingers off them. Doesn’t that just piss you off? I have a bin of these things that I have been collecting for a couple of decades. If they will not stay put in my ears, they go into the bin and begin the decomposition process.
Canal phones: this covers everything from extended ear-buds that seal to the ear canal (blocking a lot of external noise) to specialized drivers built into earplugs and intended for full engagement into the ear canal. The full engagement type can sound sensational, but have some potential drawbacks:
1)Some folks can’t stand “things” in their ears. If in doubt, practice with foam earplugs. As an aside, competent earplug use is a very good way to maintain good hearing
2)They isolate so well that you can’t hear that hungry school bus sneaking up behind you.
3)They are not waterproof, so when you leave them in your pocket and they go through the laundry, prepare to have a really bad day.
3a)Some pets like the taste, so likewise when they go through your dog.
One other “feature” of the full engagement type is that they stay put. We are talking stop you dead in your tracks if you step on the wire engagement. For some this is a huge plus. I can do cartwheels in the aisle and my canalphones will not budge (although the stewardess did threaten to throw me off the plane). otoh it is not comfortable to be halted by your ear canals if the wire gets snagged on something. Careful routing of the lead-wire pretty much eliminates the latter.
Next up are on-ear headphones. These are usually compact and fold up for carry. As the name implies, they sit on the outer ear (aka pinea). Most use a headband, although some are available with a behind-the-neck band (“street style”) while others actually clip to the ears. The main complication is that they rely on a good seal against the outer ear to get decent bass response. An over the head band is typically best for a good seal due to adjustability. I never had any luck with the clip-on type, but they work great for some folks. The behind the neck are a hybrid, since they need to hang over the outer ear to keep the pads/drivers from falling off, because gravity basically sucks.
For those who are very serious about the music, and not too concerned about strangers pointing at them, there are the larger around-the-ear headphones (circumaural). These can offer the best sound for the dollar, at the expense of a more cumbersome package and questionable curb appeal. This is the real headphone mainstream, so options abound. They fall into 2 main categories: open, where the outer shell is mostly acoustically open to the environment, and closed, where the outer shell is just that, a barrier to external noise. Closed headphones do not isolate the listener particularly well, but they do keep the music inside, so you can get away with them in the library, although all of that dancing will get you busted every time. Open headphones give a better sense of space and, um, openness, but they leak sound to the outer world.
Now, how to choose? First think about how you listen. If you listen while at the gym or running, big old circumaural cans aren’t going to be comfortable (I have tried). Canal phones or light supra-aural will work. At the library or in a noisy dorm, closed full-sized cans are just right. For travel, especially on an airplane, good canal-phones are a godsend! The only problem is that you will not hear the pilot when (s)he tells you to extinguish all electronics. Canal-phones also seem to be the growth market right now, with new deals showing up every week. For ultimate personal listening when you don’t need isolation, open circumaural headphones are just plain sweet. Just remember that turning up the volume to drown outside noises is a very bad idea, and closed cans would have been the better choice.
Next, listen before you buy, if possible. Worst case, buy from someone with a good return policy. If you have a friend with a headphone addiction, it is a mixed blessing. On the positive they will be happy to loan headphones for temporary listening trials, and they can be great information resources. On the negative side they will give you more information than you can stand, and the affliction can be very contagious. Borrow with care.
Lastly, do some research (and quit that groaning). As with many things, the quality of your results will depend on how well informed you are as a consumer. Be forewarned, this road only starts with headphones, but leads next to headphone amps, then to better source components, source tweaks, ripping tweaks, etc. DO NOT PANIC! This stuff is all nice to have, but not necessary all at once. The first step is to get some headphones that work for you without ruining your hearing, remember? Please don’t fall into the trap of going out on a limb and selling your soul for the “ultimate system”. I have seen this voracious pit claim many a victim, and none ever actually found that ultimate system. Just remember, all gear is a compromise, and a better version will be coming along shortly.
I should clarify some jargon: headphones are also referred to as phones or cans. Canal-phones are sometimes erroneously called earbuds or buds. This is not a big deal, as long as you are aware of how they fit. It does get vague when dealing with designs that provide high isolation with shallow engagement.
Now, a few websites to get you started:
head-fi.org a full spectrum of headphone geeks, from newbies to the old-ones. Always pleasant and well behaved.
headphone.com both a resource and a retailer. They have been around since before music resided on computers.
headwize.com predates head-fi. Another excellent source of headphone information, with a large collection of diy types.
And now some great advice from my fellow inmates...
